the above words: Being put to death in the flesh, but quick ⚫ened by the Spirit: By which he went and preached,' &c. That is, by which Spirit he went and preached to the fpirits in prifon. The only queftion then is, when Chrift, by the holy Spirit, preached to these prifoners? And the answer is given in the fame connection; verfe 20. When once the longfuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing.' The finners of the old world, therefore, who, once def pifed their day of grace, and the preaching of righteousness by Noah, are now in the prifon of hell; referved for the judgment of the great day, then to be rewarded according to their evil deeds, A moft folemn warning to Universalists, inftead of giving the leaf colour to their false scheme. I am, &c. END OF PART II. Univerfalifm confounds and deftroys itself, &c. PART III. The natural and proper meaning of everlasting, eternal, forever, forever and ever, and the original words from which thefe are tranflated, shown to be endless duration. Also, objections confidered. LETTER I. Shewing the common ufe of thefe words, and their neceffary ufe and import in Scripture. E MY DEAR FRIEND, VERY one muft grant the importance of understanding the true meaning of thefe words. Hence, the following things. 1. Everlafting, eternal, forever, forevermore, forever and ever, are fynonimous terms; having one meaning; and all derived from the word eternity. Likewise, in the original Greek, there are feveral derivatives from the root or noun, which, into our language, is tranflated eternity. This will hereafter require particular attention. II. These words, as well as all others that give an unlimited idea, are often ufed in the limited fenfe, by way of figure or metaphor. Of an earthly monarch, of a mere man, we fay, His horfes and troops are innumerable, his ftrength or power is infi nite. So of ancient No, Ethiopia and Egypt were her • ftrength, and it was infinite.' Nah. iii. 9. So we fay, The eter nal hills, the everlasting mountains. Thefe are bold ftriking figures, to fet forth the ftrength of fuch a monarch, compared to o ther earthly powers; and the duration of the hills and mountains, compared to other things. But this figurative ufe of infinite and eternal does not alter their literal meaning, when they are used in their proper and literal fenfe. If it did, there would be an end to the meaning of all words. III. When words are figuratively used, the figure must be well understood, or it must come within the reach of our fenfes. Thus the hills and mountains are objects of fight, and we fee them every year washing down into the vallies. And we know from fcrip. ture they will come to an end. So the ftrength of No, we are affured was not ftri&tly infinite. As these things come within the reach of our fenfes, being well underflood, there is no room for mistake. We at once fee the figurative use of these unlim ited terms, when applied to them. But, when talking about things of the invifible and eternal world, words muft then be used in their literal fenfe. We know nothing of invifible things, on. ly as we are informed by words, or by Revelation. Which o bliges us, in this cafe, to take the fenfe of words, not by a figure or metaphor, but in their natural, proper meaning. That is, if an invifible object or being is called infinite, boundless, or eter nal, we are obliged to take thefe words, fo defcribing his attributes, in their literal fenfe, according to their natural import. The rea fon for this is plain, we have no way to learn the attributes of invifible objects, only as they are revealed. Suppofe, for inftance, angels or devils were in fcripture called infinite, in power or wif dom; we should be compelled to confider them as fuch, unless we had fpecial information to the contrary. And, for objects of the invifible world to be called, in one place of fcripture, infi nite, boundless, and eternal; in another, finite, limited, and tem. poral; this would make nothing but confufion. The reafon is becaufe thefe objects lie wholly out of our fight, and we cannot learn their nature and qualities except by words of scripture. In this inftance, therefore, we should not know when to take the words ftrictly, or when by way of metaphor. Whereas, mountains, hills, armies, nations, monarchs, and other things of this world, being objects well known without revelation, unlimited terms may be applied to them, without any danger of mistake: the figurative ufe of thefe terms, fo applied, being plain at firft view. IV. It appears that these words, everlafting, eternal, &c. may be, and often are in fcripture, ufed in a two fold fenfe, both temporal and eternal. They are applied to fhadows or types; which thadows or types, in themfelves confidered, fade away or come to an end. But thefe fading things, thefe fhadows that perifh, con tain, wrapt up in them, things that do not fade away, things that abide forever. Thefe fhadows or types contain, or they promise bleffings ftrictly endlefs or eternal. So the land of Canaan was given to Abraliam as a type and promife of heaven; and given to him by an everlasting covenant. The fubftance promifed to Abraham in this grant of Canaan, which was heaven, was strict ly everlafting. While the Shadow or earthly inheritance was temporal. temporal The word everlasting, therefore, being applied both to the fhadow and fubftance, has its twofold meaning, temporal and eternal. Or it is applied to a compound object, or a two. fold object, which is both temporal and eternal. Further atten. tion will be paid to this, in another place. V. It appears evident from facts, that the word eternity and its derivatives, in common language, have had one fixed, and natural, and proper meaning. And, when ufed in their direct or natural fenfe, they have been used to exprefs endless dura. tion. Here an appeal may be made both to the learned and unlearned for the truth of this. And whether all profane writers, as they are called, among all nations, have not ufed thefe words to intend endless duration. And have applied them, when in their direct and proper ufe, to mean nothing elfe. cx When men, as in our or fome other dialect, fay, though blafphemously, they wifh fuch a man to be eternally miferable, damned to eternity! the fenfe is fixed, and plain to every one. We do not want fome one to come and explain fuch kind of preffions; or to prove that they mean unceafing torment. They can be interpreted in no other fenfe. For one to attempt a new interpretation of the word eternity, as it is ufed in common fpeech, or to prove that it does not mean ftrictly endless, would be the height of folly. For one to attempt a new interpretation of everlafting or forever, as men use them in common, and join them to things of the next world, would be labour in vain. The fenfe of them, in this cafe, is already fixed, and cannot be altered. When thefe words are ufed out of their natural courfe, or about our temporal matters, the fenfe is fixed and plain, without hazard of ambiguity or deception. For inftance, conveyance of lands is made; the deed running. To him and his heirs forev er.' Here the main object and force of the term, forever, is plain. Not to warrant that the lands fhall continue in being without end. Nor to warrant to the poffeffor, or his heirs, their continuance in being without end. The warranty has nothing to do with this. But, on his part, his bufinefs is to give conveyance; binding himself and heirs to defend against all legal claims, which may hereafter arife, without any limitation, and as we may properly fay, forever without end. Forever, therefore, in this cafe, is used, in one certain view, in the unlimited fenfe. And no other word, excepting parallel ones, could answer the fame purpose. So when a fervant binds himself to his master, for ever; * Dr. Chauncy, as we shall yet fee, holds that forever means fimple duration, whe her longer or fhorter. Now, let his advocates try the matter, and put the fame thing in practice. Let tome one of them receive a conveyance or deed of lands. running Ta him and his heirs forever;' that is, in his own language, whether longer or fhorter. ever; he does not engage the continuance of his own life; but he promises never to break away from his mafter-never to re, nounce his fervice-never to defpife or hate him. This promife in one view is unlimited. Excepting figurative expreffions, as the everlasting mountains, the eternal hills, &c. which will again be explained; it appears that thefe words, in common fpeech, even about temporal things, generally if not always convey fome one unlimited idea. · But, when joined with things of a future world, they ftrike the mind with the moft forcible, determinate, and awful idea. E. ternity! how ferious, how awful! Ages of ages, ages of ages, added, and multiplied, bear no proportion to it. Thus the fixed and determinate fenfe of eternity and its derivations, in common language, and among all nations. VI. The general ufe of them in common converfation, and a mong all profane writers, must determine their ufe and import in the fcriptures. It must do fo, unlefs fpecial caution be given in the fcriptures to the contrary. The bible is not defigned to impofe upon men's understandings; it is addreffed to their confcien ces; it is accordingly written in words they readily understand. As to the effential things contained in it, the bible is the most intelligible of all books. This is allowed by all who hold to the bible. The fubject of eternity, alfo, is moft interefting. Which makes it evident, if the word eternity and its derivatives mean fomething different, in the facred volume, from what we find in other books, there must be a particular caution and warning, given as to this matter. But where do we find Mofes or the prophets, Chrift or the apoftles giving this caution? Where do we find them explaining away eternity? Where do we find them giving a formal and new explanation of everlasting? Or telling the world, or giving the leaft hint, that they meant fomething different by it from its common acceptation? The pagan world has all along had rude notions as to the place of departed fpirits; but as to eternity, fimply confidered, there has been but one idea, and among the whole race of Adam. And but one interpretation to these words, if we except the fentiment we are now oppofing. Had the world mistook the fenfe of thefe words, efpecially Christ and his apoftles would have rectified this mistake. And had Chrift intended a new meaning to them, or fomething dif ferent from their common received meaning through the world, he certainly would have told us of it. As to this the first of all fubjects, Chrift and his apofiles would have told us over and over |